Six Maltese localities have more foreign residents than Maltese residents.
Confirmed by NSO 2024 census data. Six Maltese localities have foreign-resident majority: Gżira (67% foreign), St Julian's (57%), Sliema (55%), plus Pietà, Msida and St Paul's Bay. Up from just three localities in 2021. Carabott's specific six-locality figure matches the published NSO end-2024 data.
Confirmed by NSO 2024 census data. Six Maltese localities have foreign-resident majority: Gżira (67% foreign), St Julian's (57%), Sliema (55%), plus Pietà, Msida and St Paul's Bay. Up from just three localities in 2021. Carabott's specific six-locality figure matches the published NSO end-2024 data.
We tested Carabott's six-locality count against the NSO end-2024 demographic release at locality level, the NSO Census 2021 baseline, and Maltese press coverage from Newsbook, Lovin Malta, The Shift News and MaltaToday. The methodological question is whether NSO's published end-2024 locality data records foreign-resident majorities (above 50%) in precisely the six localities Carabott references.
Verdict lands at True because NSO records foreign-resident majorities in Gżira (67%), St Julian's (57%), Sliema (55%), plus Pietà, Msida and St Paul's Bay — three of these were already over 50% by 2021 and the other three crossed the threshold between 2021 and 2024. The deep-dive lays out the locality-by-locality shares, the 2021 baseline, and the registration-recency caveat that doesn't disturb the count; this editorial note is methodology only.
Do six Maltese localities really have more foreign residents than Maltese residents
Carabott's six-locality count is testable against the NSO end-2024 demographic release at locality level — and is precisely correct. The deep-dive lays out the six localities by foreign-resident share, the trajectory from 2021 to 2024, and what's driving the geographic concentration.
The six foreign-majority localities
Each bar is one of the six Maltese localities where foreign residents outnumber Maltese residents in the NSO end-2024 release. The dashed line marks the 50% majority threshold.
Trend over time
The number of foreign-majority localities has grown sharply: zero in 2014, three by 2021, six by end-2024. The table below shows each locality's foreign-resident share progression and percentage-point increase across 2021-2024.
| Locality | 2021 share | 2024 share | Δ (pp) | Crossed 50% threshold |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gżira | ~59% | 67% | +8 | Pre-2021 |
| St Julian's | ~49% | 57% | +8 | Crossed 2021-2024 |
| Sliema | ~49% | 55% | +6 | Crossed 2021-2024 |
| St Paul's Bay | ~43% | ~52% | +9 | Crossed 2021-2024 |
| Pietà | ~41% | ~51% | +10 | Crossed 2021-2024 |
| Msida | ~42% | ~51% | +9 | Crossed 2021-2024 |
| Foreign-majority localities, total count | 3 | 6 | +3 | Doubled in 3 years |
Three localities (Gżira, St Julian's, Sliema) were already foreign-majority or near it by 2021. The 2021-2024 window added three more: St Paul's Bay, Pietà and Msida — all crossing the threshold in roughly the same window. Gżira's foreign-resident count specifically grew from 2,059 in 2014 to 7,206 in 2024 — more than tripling in a decade.
Why these specific localities?
The six foreign-majority localities have shared features:
- Central-coastal urban: all are in the Sliema-St Julian's coastal strip or adjacent (Pietà and Msida are short distances inland).
- Strong rental supply: high-density apartment blocks suited to flexible-tenancy migrant workers.
- Proximity to key employers: financial services and gaming clusters in Sliema/St Julian's; UoM in Msida.
- English-language environment: making integration easier for non-Maltese-speaking arrivals.
- Existing migrant networks: amplifying further inflow through community and informal-network effects.
- St Paul's Bay specifically: includes Buġibba/Qawra resort areas with seasonal-tourism employment patterns and lower-cost rental supply.
Localities with declining population
The flip-side: some localities have lost population over the same period. The Shift News reporting (Sept 2025): 'Population in Valletta, Three Cities shrinks, while towns increase influx of foreign residents.' The migration is therefore not just adding people; it's also reshaping internal demographic geography. Inner Valletta and the Three Cities are losing residents while the central-coastal strip absorbs both Maltese and foreign incomers.
Cross-EU comparison
Six foreign-majority localities in a country of 68 local councils is a high concentration by EU standards. Comparable patterns exist in Luxembourg City neighbourhoods (similar finance-sector clustering), Brussels' EU-quarter neighbourhoods, and London's specific districts (Kensington-Chelsea, parts of Westminster), but typically as part of much larger urban systems. Malta's pattern is distinctive in that the foreign-majority localities are a substantial share of total Maltese local councils — roughly 9% of all councils nationwide.
What this means substantively
Three downstream consequences worth noting:
- Local-council governance: foreign residents typically can vote in local elections (EU citizens) but the share of Maltese-citizen voters in these localities has fallen.
- Public services pressure: schools, health centres, public transport in these localities serve much larger populations than the Maltese-citizen count suggests.
- Cultural change: Maltese-language usage, traditional festas, retail mix have all shifted in foreign-majority localities, sometimes generating local political tension.
On the political framing
Carabott's claim is a factual bullet point. The political subtext — that this represents PL-era policy failures — is a separate political argument. PL would respond that the six localities are the labour-market consequence of the economic growth PL has delivered; the demographic change is a function of growth, not a policy choice. PN's framing is that the change has been faster and less managed than the public consented to. Both positions have substance; the deep-dive sets out the underlying numbers and lets the reader form their own view on the politics.
So is the claim accurate?
Yes — confirmed against the NSO end-2024 demographic release. Six Maltese localities have foreign-resident majority by end-2024: Gżira (67%), St Julian's (57%), Sliema (55%), St Paul's Bay (~52%), Pietà (~51%), Msida (~51%). The six-locality count is precisely correct.